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2013-02-15 - Free Tropical Getaway: Day 4
It was Valentine's Day night. Clay Quartermain was suppose to be out on a date with a beautiful woman that was an exotic beauty, but he had to cancel on her. Ah the life of a spy, but he finds himself outside Vanguard's front door in uniform with a trench coat over it. He reaches up and goes to knock on the door, but stops pulling out a mirror and checks his hair. Then putting on his best lady killer smile, he slips the mirror back in his pocket. Then he knocks on the front door. Since the holiday never existed on Krypton, Dedrick had spared no expense in giving his girlfriend the entire experience. It was a known fact that Supergirl is dating Dedrick Jones, and not his alter ego Vanguard. There were chocolates of all kinds, white and red balloons and a bottle of sparkling cider...on account that neither of them were old enough to drink alcohol. Dedrick is dressed casually in a pair of slacks and a button down. The plan was to spend a little quality time with Kara before taking her out for dinner at the Hellfire Club. However, when there is a knock on his door, he frowns slightly, not expecting company. Setting down the flowers that he had been arranging, he walks over and opens the door. "Can I help you?" Kara Zor-El would honestly be fine with just spending a nice romantic evening at Dedrick's apartment on the couch with a chick flick, but he had made a big deal about this club his family was a member of, so she came to his house dressed in a little black number. Landing on the balcony outside, she sees as Dedrick is going to the door to answer it. Aw man.... he was going to get ready to give her flowers and everything too. Clay's smile melts away and he becomes very business like, "Mr. Jones, I actually need to speak with Miss Zor-El. I have need of her help in the name of National Security." He says as he reaches into to a pocket slowly and withdraws a wallet with a Shield badge in it. Sure they didn't really make 'em but this would only be that much more convincing. Dedrick Jones takes a moment to inspect the man in front of him. When he flashes the badge, Ded frowns slightly, knowing that his night just went to crap. He sighs. "She's not here yet." He glances over towards his balcony and spots her...and spots what she was wearing. He looks back at the agent with a downright depressive expression. He opens the door a little wider. "Come in. Mr..?" He casually asks for a name as he steps back allowing the man into the apartment. Kara Zor-El makes a halfhearted wave at Dedrick when he turns to see that she has, in fact, arrived. She slides opens the door from the balcony and comes in. "Actually she sort of just got here. You know. To her boyfriends house." She looks at the badge. "You know... on Valentine's Day. Her FIRST Valentine's Day on Earth?" She doesn't count the first one she was really here for, since she was still on Themyscira, and an island full of only women doesn't bode well for Valentine's Day dates. She closes the balcony door behind her. It all depends on what type of date your looking for. He looks to Dedrick and grins not trying ogle Kara too much, okay just a little, "Quartermain, Clay Quartermain. Agent 9." He flips close the badge, "I understand that, Miss Zor-El. I'm missing a date of my own. But I need you... for a mission. National Security doesn't take a day off and the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division needs your special talents." There he'll throw in something that sounds like something Coulson would say. Dedrick Jones shuts the door and moves towards Kara, slipping an arm casually around her waist. He looks at the agent. "And this is something you couldn't get Superman for?" It's obvious from his tone of voice that while he's trying to remain polite to the government agent, he is not happy about his night with his girlfriend ruined, even if it's national security. He looks over at Kara and smiles. "Though I suppose since it's S.H.I.E.L.D. it must be important." He turns back to Quatermain. "I've heard of you guys." He's run across agents before as Vanguard. The last time, they treated him like he was a hostile when he had brought down some dunce in power armor. Kara Zor-El listens as Agent 9 says out the entire name. Seriously, by the time he says it instead of the acronym, she probably could have done the mission. She puts her hand lightly on Dedrick's arm when she hears the tenseness in the voice, not to mention his heartbeat and a bunch of other signals that Dedrick is annoyed about this interruption. "I'm sure if they could get Kal for this, they would have..." A brief sigh. "It's better than the last time when they had someone break into a museum to get my attention at least. What can I do to help?" Clay smiles, "Superman has seemed to disappear off the grid. Unlike the lovely and beautiful Miss Zor-El; we also don't know her cousin's secret identity or if he has one, Vanguard. I could ask him, if Miss Zor-El would like to tell me her cousin's location and secret ID." He smiles at Kara with his best lady killer smile, "It's simple, I need you to make a drop at an apartment in Brooklyn. It will seem to be a mundane issue. But intel indicates that there is a trap at the location that would require somebody of Kryptonian or Hulk abilities to withstand." Kara Zor-El smirks a little. "Yeah I think I'm going to pass on giving out Kal's secret identity, actually." She holds onto Dedrick's arm and brushes her hair behind her ear a bit. "Could you possibly tell me anything else about this drop? What am I delivering?" Dedrick Jones's body stiffens slightly when he is refereed to as his alter ego. "I'm sorry, Agent Quatermain, you are mistaken. I'm not Vanguard." Stupid S.H.I.E.L.D...how the hell did they even find out? He hasn't even told most of the Titans who he really is. It's a closely guarded secret. Must have been the domino mask...he KNEW he should have kept the visor that hid his entire face. He keeps a smile plasterd on his face, but his heartbeat accelerates significantly. "Of course, this operation will give you temporary Special Agent status and top secret clearance in the name of this mission." He reaches into his trench coat and produces a file in a large yellow envelope. "I can promise you this operation will in no way compromise your moral code or be considered breaking of any law of the land. I need your agreement and oath of your promised secrecy to read you into the operation." He looks at Dedrick like he's quite mad, "Van, what? I think you mis-heard Mr. Jones, I don't know what you're talking about." Kara Zor-El looks over at Dedrick and strokes his arm a bit, then at the envelope with x-ray vision. "I guess I could, right Dedrick? I mean... it's only Brooklyn." She looks back at Agent 9. "Could you at least tell me what sort of trap this would be or who I'd be delivering this thing to?" Dedrick Jones nods to Kara. "You could get this done and be back fairly soon, I guess?" He releases Kara then and moves to walk towards his balcony, giving the two a moment to speak, but keeping an ear open for the conversation. He frowns slightly as he watches the agent. He was sure he heard what the thought he heard, but he could have been mistaken. Maybe. Clay shakes his head, "That's not the way it works." He checks his watch, "Look time is of the essence. I will have to read you in on the way there. If you're coming. Then you're coming. If not then, I will have to go with the plan Beta. But I will warn you any death or disrememberment of SHIELD personnel will be on you." Then he turns to walk out. Kara Zor-El quirks an eyebrow at the lead lining on the envelope. After a pause, she says, "... fine." She then gives Dedrick a kiss on the cheek. "I'll try not to make this take too long okay? I'm looking forward to going to dinner at that place." Then looks over at the agent and follows him out. "You know, you SHIELD guys could really stand to improve on the whole friendliness front." Clay shrugs, "Actually, I'm quite friendly. Usually I'd went the seduction route with dancing, drinks, life endangering car chases, slightly inappropriate innuendo, and ending in a trist probably in Doctor Dooms Bed room before we blow it up." He lets out a deep sigh, "Buuuuuttt, You're a bright young woman with many lovely qualities and a boy friend. That's a good guy and it's valentines day, Oh and times of the essience. So I went the Agent Phil route. He's professional." He just did finger quotes and hands Kara the envelope. Kara Zor-El takes the envelope and opens it to sneak a peek as they walk along. "You keep saying time's of the essence. What's in here that's so time sensitive?" As they walk down the hall of Russet Gardens towards the drop, clay looks up, "Huh? Oh trust me, it gets worse if you're not on time." He mumbles, "Besides I got a date, in a couple hours I don't want to miss." He leads Kara to the door of the apartment and hands her the key, "Okay, here you go. Don't open the door till I'm in a safe position." With that Clay takes off for a run half way down the hall. "Okay Now." Kara Zor-El blinks as they just walk to the apartment and she's handed the key. "Safe position for what?" Followed by the agent taking cover. Yeah, this isnt at all foreboding. "O...kaaaaay" she says to herself, then turns to the door to put the key in the lock and turns it to open the door. Inside, the apartment is a mess. It looks like something or someone grabbed toilet paper and bathroom towels and dragged them all over the place. There is also a cute little white bunny rabbit curled up beneath the glass coffee table, half hidden by the statue that is centered upon the table. There are of course rabbit droppings in varying places about the apartment, typically in corners. The living room opens up into a spacious kitchen which has a note on the fridge on official S.H.I.E.L.D. letterhead. It reads as follows: * Feed and water the cat. Food in the cupboard below the counter, beside the fridge. * Empty the kitty litter. In spare bedroom bathroom, trash bags under sink. * Feed and water the rabbit. Food in same cupboard as cat food. * Hide from the cat. And just as Kara gets into the apartment and reads over that very strange list, there is a low and inhuman sounding growl coming from the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. A slender black feline rests there with narrowed yellow eyes. Suddenly there is a vicious growling yowling sound as the cat zips toward and leaps at her, claws out! So much for your beautiful and sexy dress being in one piece. Kara Zor-El watches as the cat attacks her with claws extended. Okay apparently this is how EVERY cat on the planet acts, not just Streaky. And like Streaky it's going to break its claws on her invulnerable skin. She pulls the cat off of her and holds it by the scruff of the neck, then peers out at the hallway where the agent is hiding. She looks around. "Is he serious?" Looking for the hidden camera to show she's on some sort of comedy show like Candid Camera or Punk'd or something. Nope. So she says again, louder, "Are you serious?" She grumbles a bit and puts the vicious little psychopath, aka, the cat, down. "He's serious." She rubs the bridge of her nose. If Kryptonians got headaches, she'd be getting one from the absurdity of this situation. She reads the note on the fridge. "Going to get this stupidity over with..." A quick use of superspeed and the water and food are replaced with fresh water and food, the litterbox is cleaned, and the rabbit cage has new food and water in it. She couldnt do the last thing though, given how the entrance into the apartment started. Before a person can blink, Kara's back outside the apartment, the apartment door closed with the murderous beast still inside, and Kara is standing near the agent rubbing her fingers to her temples. She clears her throat with an 'ahem' "Just tell me, what in Rao's name was that about?" A building rowr is coming from the feline's throat as she is held, and she hisses and tries to swipe at Kara! When the cat is put back down, the cat pounces where Kara was! Fur standing on end, she growls and looks about with suspicious eyes for the Kryptonian before swishes of air blow the cat over and she rolls a few times! She looks a little dazed afterwards, and the white bunny leaps out from where she was hiding. Her cage is in the spare bedroom. But faster than she arrived, Kara is then gone, leaving a raging feline hissing and growling, and making quite a ruckus! Kara Zor-El is tapping her foot where the agent is hiding, waiting for an answer, while the cat inside is being a high holy terror. In other words, beign a typical cat. "Seriously.... what is this about? And bear in mind, I can melt you." She's being late for her Valentine's Day date for this? For THIS, 'time is of the essence?' What... were they afraid that cat was going to pee in the laundry like Streaky's done? Clay smiles at Kara, "What's that all about? Last week, I took out two different Hydra bases by myself, not a scratch, scrape, cut, or anything. That was my last assignment. This week? I have to feed that hell cat. Yesterday it destroyed my trench coat and well you'll never hand encountered this in climbed up one leg and back down the other leg bitting me as it went. The problem, I'd kill the cat but the owner's worse. So you've just prevented damage to a national resource and treasure.. Your Government thanks you. Thank you Supergirl." He doesn't seem very threatened when she mentions the word melt, "OH and in case Mr. Jones doesn't ever say it. You're sexy when your Angry. Here this might make it worth while." He hands her another lead line envelope. Then turns and walks away. Kara Zor-El just blinks as she's handed another envelope and he turns to walk away. Honestly, it takes a lot of willpower to not superspeed grab him and lock him in the apartment in his underwear with no weapon and just that cat. She calls after him as he leave, "They have services in the yellow pages for this you know!" Then grumbles as she opens the second envelope. It's probably something asking her to pick up his dry cleaning. Whatever. She'll just see what's in the envelope then get back to her date with Dedrick. Clay calls back, "some people with pets have secret like yours and your cousin. I need somebody that could keep a secret. You just fed Batman's Cat." So to sum of the evening so far, you got your date interupted with Dedrick, you got your dress torn by a hellion cat that now has dulled claws, and you were totally and completely used by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent that would also love to have a chance to bang you. How can it get much worse? Inside the evenlope between the lead lining is a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge that reads: Special Agent Supergirl. There is also quite a number of photos that when you pull out the badge that get scattered on the floor. When Kara goes to pick them up though, they are...photos of Arsenal! Not only that, but Arsenal in a some sort of dorm room with bunk beds, passed out in a lower one in nothing but his boxers, sound asleep! And there are Batman boxers, and House of El boxers, and Green Lantern boxers, and Wonder Woman boxers, and boxers with friggin hearts on them. And he is in varying positions, many of which look awkward, and one in which it looks like he may be drooling. Yep, they caught the essence of Roy Harper for Kara's personal collection. Kara Zor-El watches him walk off, pretty certain Clay is certifiably insane and his SHIELD badge was probably a prize from a cereal box. She yells back, "No I didn't! I mean that's not.... Gah! I mean he doesn't even have -..." And then she's just looking at the photographs and she sort of forgets what the rest of the sentence was was going to yell was about. She tilts her head to look at he pictures. Superspeed back home to put them somewhere safe, before speeding back to Dedrick to complain about the absurdity of this 'mission'. And omit the part about the pictures. Dedrick Jones is staring out of a window with his hands behind his back. It's the same position that he was in when Kara left and he hasn't really moved all that much since then. One second, he's outside looking out the window. The next minute Kara's standing there. "Cat litter." Dedrick Jones blinks and turns around to face Kara. He raises a brow slightly. "Cat litter? What did you need to get some for Streaky or something?" Kara Zor-El puts her head against Dedrick's shoulder. "No. That was the 'mission'" Kara says, making air quotes. "Change the litter, water and food for some cat which that nutcase didnt want to deal with." She then looks up at Dedrick. "If future generations wonder why I went evil and insane, they'll be able to point to this day as the genesis of it, I think." Dedrick Jones holds her close and kisses her forehead. "Are you serious? They came here and interrupted our evening, just for you to deal with a cat? That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard." He sighs. "Unfortunately, we missed dinner. But, we can order pizza and watch a movie instead. How does that sound?" Kara Zor-El gives Dedrick a hug and rests her head back against him. "That works for me just fine." She murmurs, "Would it be bad if I was to find that guy tomorrow and hang him by the underwear on one of the flagpoles outside the U.N.?" Dedrick Jones shakes his head. "In this case...no. No I don't think it would be bad. Of course, you'd have to stop me from doing it first." He smiles. "Why don't you pick out a movie while I call in a pizza. Then, we can relax and forget about the crazy SHIELD agent. I haven't seen you in weeks, between you babysitting Lian while Roy was out looking for Chesire and our respective Titan duties. Plus my internship job...and school. We need this." Kara Zor-El takes off the shoes and heads over to the couch, sitting on it with her feet up on the couch. She turns to watch Dedrick, "I'll watch any movie you feel like today. Even an action one with lots of punching and hitting. I can go for punching and hitting right about now." She leans up against the back cushion to look at Dedrick as he goes to order a pizza. "Tell me about the internship? Oh and school.... definitely I'd like to hear about that." Dedrick Jones orders delivery and then sits down on the couch next to her. "I'm fine with whatever you want to watch. You've had a rough night." He places his arms around her and grins. "Well, school is school. The band hasn't had a gig in about a month...and I'm working at my Dad's company in New Accounts. Basically, it's my job to go around and talk to other businesses about using J-Tech for their software needs. I've actually got a meeting with Wayne Tech in a few weeks to talk about the new operating system that we're releasing soon. However, we've already promised Stark Enterprises first crack at it..which is why that meeting got pushed back." He pauses and realizes that he's probably boring her, so he waves a hand with a smile. "But that's not important." Another pause. "You're not joking with me about the cat thing, right?" Kara Zor-El shakes her head. "Changed litter, food, and water. Oh and I had to change the water and food for a rabbit in a cage as well. That's all." She waits for Dedrick to come back then lies her head on his lap to sulk. SULK, not.... get your mind out of the gutter, readers.